The country is about to pass a red-ink milestone that the Canadian Taxpayers Federation says is completely unnecessary. The national debt is set to reach $600 billion just seconds before 11:19 p.m.
The national debt is set to reach $600 billion just seconds before 11:19 p.m. ET Saturday, says the federation, which has set up a "debt clock" to let everyone view the event online. ... At the current rate, Canada's national debt is rising by $74.6 million a day, or $863.27 every second. ... The government says the spending under its so-called economic action plan was necessary to maintain and create jobs during the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.
But much of it was wasteful, said Thomas, who took particular aim at the government's advertising spending. "You can't sit through a football game without seeing all this propaganda about what a terrific job the government's doing," he said.
"They're borrowing money to sell Canadians on themselves."
Great job fiscal conservatives..
When Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said that net debt would be eliminated within a generation in his November 2006 fiscal update, he left a lot of people scratching their heads. Journalists and pundits quickly looked at the massive $480 billion national debt and wondered how it could be whittled down to zero in 15 years, representing payments of more than $30 billion a year.
Gotta spend to keep society functioning and infrastructure in operable condition. Thats just the way it is. May not like it but the reality is that government is the biggest booster of economic activity that exists, and always will be.
Since the CPC is the repository of social dinosaurs Christian theocracy advocates, if they then act like Liberals or NDP in their spending habits, what would be the reason for anybody (sane) to vote for them? Mandatory minimums for small time pot growers?
Since the CPC is the repository of social dinosaurs Christian theocracy advocates, if they then act like Liberals or NDP in their spending habits, what would be the reason for anybody (sane) to vote for them? Mandatory minimums for small time pot growers?
If it was the Dippers, you could toss an extra zero onto those numbers.
Since the CPC is the repository of social dinosaurs Christian theocracy advocates, if they then act like Liberals or NDP in their spending habits, what would be the reason for anybody (sane) to vote for them? Mandatory minimums for small time pot growers?
If I recall, the CPC was not terribly interested in big time spending deficits until pushed into it by the opposition after the 2008 crash.
This is a damned if you do damned if you don't position for the government in power (any government really) because the opposition is in a position where it can simply talk the talk since there is no chance of having to walk the walk for a period of time.
I suspect that if the CPC didn't drop a pile of public cash into projects in 2008, the economy would not be in the relatively positive state that it is in now and the opposition would be screaming about high unemployment while Canada enjoyed balanced budgets.
So yes, in the end, the cacophony of partisan braying continues.
The point is that the CPC is losing it's raison d'etre. Why vote for them if they also stand for govt spending, including pork barreling? Only for the social conservatism, and on that point they'll never get elected. I'm not arguing they should not have spent and continue to spend. I've always been in favor of the red tories. But the bunch in power now aren't red tories. They're hardline righties who have been forced by circumstances to be pragmatic. To me that's not somebody to vote for, you never know when they'll return to being dogmatic. Anybody that can come out with the line "if we were going to have a recession we would have had it by now" is not to be trusted.
The partisan braying in the OP is from the National Taxpayers Federation, who are to the right of the CPC at the moment. The argument I'm making about why vote CPC has been made by similar ilk, it's not my own idea. It's the same as the analysis that showed that the Liberals (and the NDP provincially) were actually better money managers than the Conservatives, based on their record.
"andyt" said The point is that the CPC is losing it's raison d'etre. Why vote for them if they also stand for govt spending, including pork barreling? Only for the social conservatism, and on that point they'll never get elected. I'm not arguing they should not have spent and continue to spend. I've always been in favor of the red tories. But the bunch in power now aren't red tories. They're hardline righties who have been forced by circumstances to be pragmatic. To me that's not somebody to vote for, you never know when they'll return to being dogmatic. Anybody that can come out with the line "if we were going to have a recession we would have had it by now" is not to be trusted.
The partisan braying in the OP is from the National Taxpayers Federation, who are to the right of the CPC at the moment. The argument I'm making about why vote CPC has been made by similar ilk, it's not my own idea. It's the same as the analysis that showed that the Liberals (and the NDP provincially) were actually better money managers than the Conservatives, based on their record.
Apparently they are somebody to vote for - and regularly for the last several years. Obviously there is much that people like beyond fiscal management and some of their social policies seem to resonate with voters. Whether they are reaching or have reached their best before date under Harper is difficult to say - but polls suggest he is still the man to beat compared to the other leaders.
So in answer to your question, it appears that many actually like his non fiscal policies as opposed to those of the Liberals and NDP.
Maybe the question should be why aren't people voting for the Liberals and NDP and putting them into power if the CPC is just another fiscal clone of federal politics?
"martin14" said To me that's not somebody to vote for, you never know when they'll return to being dogmatic.
More ' secret agenda ' bullshit.
His govt spending doesn't seem to be based on making an analysis that it's the right thing to do, but, as Kjjjj said, because "we asked for it." So he seems to just be blowing in the polling results wind here. Not good.
Apparently they are somebody to vote for - and regularly for the last several years. Obviously there is much that people like beyond fiscal management and some of their social policies seem to resonate with voters. Whether they are reaching or have reached their best before date under Harper is difficult to say - but polls suggest he is still the man to beat compared to the other leaders.
So in answer to your question, it appears that many actually like his non fiscal policies as opposed to those of the Liberals and NDP.
Maybe the question should be why aren't people voting for the Liberals and NDP and putting them into power if the CPC is just another fiscal clone of federal politics?
He won with a minority of the popular vote, because the Libs and NDP split the rest. This even with the Libs having shot themselves in the head. And he's done OK since then, I'll give him that. He didn't go hog wild. I certainly admire his discipline and ability to think long term. But, let's see what the next election shakes out. If times are good and he maintains his pragmatic stance, he's got a rosy future.
Apparently they are somebody to vote for - and regularly for the last several years. Obviously there is much that people like beyond fiscal management and some of their social policies seem to resonate with voters. Whether they are reaching or have reached their best before date under Harper is difficult to say - but polls suggest he is still the man to beat compared to the other leaders.
So in answer to your question, it appears that many actually like his non fiscal policies as opposed to those of the Liberals and NDP.
Maybe the question should be why aren't people voting for the Liberals and NDP and putting them into power if the CPC is just another fiscal clone of federal politics?
He won with a minority of the popular vote, because the Libs and NDP split the rest. This even with the Libs having shot themselves in the head. And he's done OK since then, I'll give him that. He didn't go hog wild. I certainly admire his discipline and ability to think long term. But, let's see what the next election shakes out. If times are good and he maintains his pragmatic stance, he's got a rosy future.
We are selling out our resources, wood, oil, food, at below replacement cost. And we are doing it because we have so much of it that we don't even understand that it can run out. We are the last of the big time spenders and we are coming by the capital to do it by spending our capital.
Will the times be good when the next election comes around? That's a big one imho. It's funny to me that we have disparaged our role as woodcutters and water haulers for so many years striving to have secondary and tertiary industry that we can't see the need for this stuff. We can just sell it off because it really isn't much anyway. The Liberals and Cons have made many a good living by making it look like they know what they are doing.
But our wealth is getting blown out the proverbial yin/yang and we are going to be wishing we had done what all responsible industries do, which is get at least replacement cost for what we are selling.
"martin14" said If it was the Dippers, you could toss an extra zero onto those numbers.
If my aunt had nuts, she'd be my uncle. The only meaningful difference between the NDP and the CPC is the that the NDP MIGHT be fuck ups whereas the CPC ARE fuck ups.
...
At the current rate, Canada's national debt is rising by $74.6 million a day, or $863.27 every second.
...
The government says the spending under its so-called economic action plan was necessary to maintain and create jobs during the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.
But much of it was wasteful, said Thomas, who took particular aim at the government's advertising spending.
"You can't sit through a football game without seeing all this propaganda about what a terrific job the government's doing," he said.
"They're borrowing money to sell Canadians on themselves."
Great job fiscal conservatives..
Bad plans, from bad management.
You asked for spending, you got it.
Since the CPC is the repository of social dinosaurs Christian theocracy advocates, if they then act like Liberals or NDP in their spending habits, what would be the reason for anybody (sane) to vote for them? Mandatory minimums for small time pot growers?
You asked for spending, you got it.
Since the CPC is the repository of social dinosaurs Christian theocracy advocates, if they then act like Liberals or NDP in their spending habits, what would be the reason for anybody (sane) to vote for them? Mandatory minimums for small time pot growers?
If it was the Dippers, you could toss an extra zero onto those numbers.
Curt bitching and whining for nothing as usual.
You too.
You asked for spending, you got it.
Since the CPC is the repository of social dinosaurs Christian theocracy advocates, if they then act like Liberals or NDP in their spending habits, what would be the reason for anybody (sane) to vote for them? Mandatory minimums for small time pot growers?
If I recall, the CPC was not terribly interested in big time spending deficits until pushed into it by the opposition after the 2008 crash.
This is a damned if you do damned if you don't position for the government in power (any government really) because the opposition is in a position where it can simply talk the talk since there is no chance of having to walk the walk for a period of time.
I suspect that if the CPC didn't drop a pile of public cash into projects in 2008, the economy would not be in the relatively positive state that it is in now and the opposition would be screaming about high unemployment while Canada enjoyed balanced budgets.
So yes, in the end, the cacophony of partisan braying continues.
The partisan braying in the OP is from the National Taxpayers Federation, who are to the right of the CPC at the moment. The argument I'm making about why vote CPC has been made by similar ilk, it's not my own idea. It's the same as the analysis that showed that the Liberals (and the NDP provincially) were actually better money managers than the Conservatives, based on their record.
To me that's not somebody to vote for, you never know when they'll return to being dogmatic.
More ' secret agenda ' bullshit.
The point is that the CPC is losing it's raison d'etre. Why vote for them if they also stand for govt spending, including pork barreling? Only for the social conservatism, and on that point they'll never get elected. I'm not arguing they should not have spent and continue to spend. I've always been in favor of the red tories. But the bunch in power now aren't red tories. They're hardline righties who have been forced by circumstances to be pragmatic. To me that's not somebody to vote for, you never know when they'll return to being dogmatic. Anybody that can come out with the line "if we were going to have a recession we would have had it by now" is not to be trusted.
The partisan braying in the OP is from the National Taxpayers Federation, who are to the right of the CPC at the moment. The argument I'm making about why vote CPC has been made by similar ilk, it's not my own idea. It's the same as the analysis that showed that the Liberals (and the NDP provincially) were actually better money managers than the Conservatives, based on their record.
Apparently they are somebody to vote for - and regularly for the last several years. Obviously there is much that people like beyond fiscal management and some of their social policies seem to resonate with voters. Whether they are reaching or have reached their best before date under Harper is difficult to say - but polls suggest he is still the man to beat compared to the other leaders.
So in answer to your question, it appears that many actually like his non fiscal policies as opposed to those of the Liberals and NDP.
Maybe the question should be why aren't people voting for the Liberals and NDP and putting them into power if the CPC is just another fiscal clone of federal politics?
To me that's not somebody to vote for, you never know when they'll return to being dogmatic.
More ' secret agenda ' bullshit.
His govt spending doesn't seem to be based on making an analysis that it's the right thing to do, but, as Kjjjj said, because "we asked for it." So he seems to just be blowing in the polling results wind here. Not good.
Apparently they are somebody to vote for - and regularly for the last several years. Obviously there is much that people like beyond fiscal management and some of their social policies seem to resonate with voters. Whether they are reaching or have reached their best before date under Harper is difficult to say - but polls suggest he is still the man to beat compared to the other leaders.
So in answer to your question, it appears that many actually like his non fiscal policies as opposed to those of the Liberals and NDP.
Maybe the question should be why aren't people voting for the Liberals and NDP and putting them into power if the CPC is just another fiscal clone of federal politics?
He won with a minority of the popular vote, because the Libs and NDP split the rest. This even with the Libs having shot themselves in the head. And he's done OK since then, I'll give him that. He didn't go hog wild. I certainly admire his discipline and ability to think long term. But, let's see what the next election shakes out. If times are good and he maintains his pragmatic stance, he's got a rosy future.
Apparently they are somebody to vote for - and regularly for the last several years. Obviously there is much that people like beyond fiscal management and some of their social policies seem to resonate with voters. Whether they are reaching or have reached their best before date under Harper is difficult to say - but polls suggest he is still the man to beat compared to the other leaders.
So in answer to your question, it appears that many actually like his non fiscal policies as opposed to those of the Liberals and NDP.
Maybe the question should be why aren't people voting for the Liberals and NDP and putting them into power if the CPC is just another fiscal clone of federal politics?
He won with a minority of the popular vote, because the Libs and NDP split the rest. This even with the Libs having shot themselves in the head. And he's done OK since then, I'll give him that. He didn't go hog wild. I certainly admire his discipline and ability to think long term. But, let's see what the next election shakes out. If times are good and he maintains his pragmatic stance, he's got a rosy future.
Agreed.
Will the times be good when the next election comes around? That's a big one imho. It's funny to me that we have disparaged our role as woodcutters and water haulers for so many years striving to have secondary and tertiary industry that we can't see the need for this stuff. We can just sell it off because it really isn't much anyway. The Liberals and Cons have made many a good living by making it look like they know what they are doing.
But our wealth is getting blown out the proverbial yin/yang and we are going to be wishing we had done what all responsible industries do, which is get at least replacement cost for what we are selling.
If it was the Dippers, you could toss an extra zero onto those numbers.
If my aunt had nuts, she'd be my uncle. The only meaningful difference between the NDP and the CPC is the that the NDP MIGHT be fuck ups whereas the CPC ARE fuck ups.